Row brews over cost of fertiliser set by tea agency
Whereas KTDA says it will sell its fertiliser to farmers at Sh2,200, Mr Ruto insists that it should be sold at not more than Sh2,000 per 50 kilogramme bag. Photo/JARED NYATAYA
A row is brewing over the price of fertiliser imported by the Kenya Tea Development Agency for distribution to farmers. Whereas the agency says the input will be sold at Sh2,200 Agriculture minister William Ruto insists the fertiliser will be sold at Sh2,000 for a 50 kilogramme bag.
At the same time, the government said it will streamline KTDA to contain exploitation of tea farmers by greedy directors. Mr Ruto said the tea agency has failed to solve problems facing small scale tea farmers after directors went ahead and imported expensive fertiliser at the expense of farmers.
He said the government would not allow KTDA to sell the imported fertiliser at a price of above Sh2,000 per bag to farmers. He accused the board of hiding under the claims that it was a private company to exploit tea farmers. “The government will intervene and take serious action on the management board of KTDA unless it listens to protests from tea farmers,” said Mr Ruto.
He spoke on Sunday at a tea farmers’ meeting in Nandi Central District. Meanwhile, farmers from the larger Nyamira District on Sunday said they will not pay for the input unless it costs less than Sh2,000 per bag.
Act on officials
The growers from six tea factories in zone 10 supported Mr Ruto over his stand on the prices and urged him to act on some KTDA officials who they claimed were out to exploit tea farmers in the country. “We will not accept any deductions towards repayment of fertilisers since KTDA did not consult us on its cost before it procured it,” said Mr Joas Kiriama, a farmer at Gianchore Tea factory .
The differences emerge after KTDA resumed importation of fertilizer following suspension of the exercise for a year due to high prices. The halt came after prices rose to a high of Sh6,000 per 50 kilogramme bag mid last year forcing the agency to stop buying it on behalf of farmers, said Mr Simon Gikanya, Chai Trading Company general manager. The company is subsidiary of the tea agency.
“It was not cost effective for farmers and charging them based on those prices would have eaten into their incomes,” he said at the Mombasa port when he witnessed the arrival of the first consignment of 28,500 metric tons of Nitrogen Phosphate and Potassium fertiliser on Saturday.
By June, all the fertilisers which KTDA says will retail at Sh2,200 for the 50 kilogramme bag will have been distributed to all the farmers in time to boost the traditional July peak harvest season. World fertiliser prices have dropped from a high of $847 - about Sh67,760 - in April last year to $350 (Sh28,000) early this year.
